Penn State Athletics: NCAA Rules In Favor Of Voluntary Team Activities To Resume June 1

According to multiple reports the NCAA Division I Council has approved the resumption of voluntary activities for athletes in football, men's basketball and women's basketball, beginning June 1.

Guidelines for such activities have not been released at this time, nor has the NCAA officially announced or officially confirmed the vote which took place on Wednesday afternoon. The NCAA will reportedly address additional sports in the next week or two.

The Big Ten's own suspension of all team related activities currently runs through June 1st and there has been no indication at this time if that suspension will be extended or will expire in conjunction with the NCAA's broad approval of on-campus activities.

In addition, Penn State previously suspended all on-campus learning for the duration of the summer and is scheduled to announce its plans for on-campus learning in the fall by June 15th. Penn State President Eric Barron has previously stated that it is his intention to proceed as if in-person learning will be taking place the fall but that those plans could change prior to the pending announcement.

Separately, Penn State has long maintained the position that if campus is unsafe for academics that it is unsafe to require or allow student-athletes to return to campus. It is unclear at this time if that position would continue in the summer, now that the NCAA and potentially the Big Ten, have allowed on-campus team activities.

Finally any sort of voluntary activities would have to fall within the state's own guidelines for reopening relative to the COVID-19 virus. Centre County is currently in the yellow phase of opening which prohibits gatherings of more than 25 people. Indoor recreation services are prohibited as well, but the letter of that particular guideline likely applies to public, and the effectively private and controlled environment of Penn State's own training services.

StateCollege.com has reached out to Penn State athletics for further clarification on a few points and will update the story as needed.